Building and Leading a Healthy Academic Department Culture

Denver, CO | September 24, 2026 8:00 am MT - September 25, 2026 12:30 pm MT

Registrant Access Only

This training will not be available asynchronously.

Building and Leading a Healthy Academic Department Culture

Denver, CO | September 24, 2026 8:00 am MT - September 25, 2026 12:30 pm MT


Shape the culture your department needs to succeed.

Event Information

Trust is fragile in academia, and culture is always forming. For academic leaders, the question is not whether a culture exists, but whether it is being shaped with intention. 

This workshop equips department Chairs, Deans, and academic leaders with a clear framework for building and sustaining healthy unit cultures rooted in transparency, accountability, and psychological safety. You’ll model a culture-building exercise you can bring back to your departments while exploring the leadership behaviors that most powerfully influence team norms. 

By identifying the common enemies of trust—such as inconsistency, avoidance, and perceived favoritism—you’ll also develop practical strategies to strengthen credibility and fairness. The result: Teams that are more resilient, collaborative, and capable of navigating change together. 

To preserve an intimate and productive experience, this workshop is capped at 30 attendees.

Who should attend?

Academic leaders who manage a department or divisional culture will benefit most from this workshop. In particular, we encourage Department Heads and Chairs, Program Directors, Deans and Associate Deans, Provosts and Associate Provosts, and those working in faculty development to join us. Past attendees of Managing Difficult Faculty and Staff and Essential Leadership Skills for Deans and Chairs will find this workshop complementary to their previous takeaways.  

Bring a team! Register 3 or more people and save more than $1,000! Discounts will be automatically applied at checkout. 

Agenda

Start & end times:    

Day 1 

Registration and breakfast begin at: 8:00 a.m. MT 

Sessions begin at: 8:30 a.m. MT 

Day 1 ends at: 5:30 p.m. MT 

Day 2 

Breakfast begins at: 8:00 a.m. MT 

Sessions begin at: 8:30 a.m. MT 

Workshop ends at: 12:30 p.m. MT 

Meals included in registration price:    

  • Day 1: Breakfast, lunch, and networking reception 
  • Day 2: Breakfast 

To learn more about what we’ll cover, check out the session descriptions. 

Location

Academic Impressions Office 
5299 DTC Blvd, Suite 1400 
Greenwood Village, CO 80111 

Nearby hotel suggestions: 

Hyatt Place Denver Tech Center – 3-star hotel
8300 E Crescent Pkwy, Greenwood Village, CO 80111
303-804-0700
Distance from office: 0.5 miles if driving, 0.3 miles if walking 

A discounted room rate is available if you book your room using this link.  

This reduced rate and room availability are subject to general hotel availability and not guaranteed. So, we recommend booking as soon as possible!  

Denver Marriott Tech Center – 4-star hotel
4900 S Syracuse St, Denver, CO 80237
303-779-1100
Distance from office: 0.9-1.2 miles, depending on route 

A 10% discount is available if you book your room using this link.  

This discount is subject to general hotel availability and not guaranteed. So, we recommend booking as soon as possible!